


What Makes A Monster

by hallowed-vessels (hasbeenhotel)



Category: Don't Starve (Video Game)
Genre: Bad Things Happen Bingo, Gen, Self Harm, abigail wilson and willow are mentioned, eye gore, in general webber does not have a fun time, tws for:
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-12-09 08:08:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20991623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hasbeenhotel/pseuds/hallowed-vessels
Summary: Webber's tired of being attacked by everything that sees him. He just wants to look human again.





	What Makes A Monster

Webber hid under a bush, trembling as he listened to the thumping and huffing of the pigs that had been chasing him.

He curled up into a ball, stifling a sob. Everyone else had been able to pass in peace, even be _friendly_ with the pigs, but not him. He wasn’t human. To them, he was just another monster to bash to pieces.

“You need to go.” He told his spider. “I need to be human again.”

_I can’t leave._ The spider reminded.

“I’m tired of being a monster.” He sighed, and dragged his claws through the dirt. “I don’t want you gone, really, but I want to be normal.”

His spider was silent, and he felt bad. He loved his spider, he really did! Maybe- maybe he could find a way to make himself look normal. He could keep his spider, he just needed to get rid of everything that made him _look_ like a spider.

“We could stay together.” Webber whispered. “I just need you to help me not be a coward. I-I’ve gotta get rid of all of this. The extra eyes, the legs- please, please, please don’t let me chicken out.”

The spider didn’t like that idea. _Are you sure? It’ll hurt!_

“Looking like this, being attacked everywhere I go, _that_ hurts. We’ll- we’ll be fine.” He took a deep breath, trying to convince himself that everything would be fine, that they could stand a little bit of pain if it meant not having to be such a monster. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Ripping out your own eyes, as it turned out, was not something instincts would easily let you do. Webber didn’t have the best pain tolerance, and was admittedly a little squeamish, too. But he had to do it, he **had to.**

He managed to get his claws around one eye- the lowest one on the right side, -tensed himself in preparation, and _yanked_.

The entire world went white in pain. Webber might have screamed, he probably did, but if he did, he didn’t notice. All he could feel, hear, see- it was nothing but sheer agony. He sat there for what felt like hours, maybe it _was_ hours, waiting for the pain to die down enough.

When it finally did, he was practically sitting in a pool of purple. His own blood. His stomach twisted into knots, and his head felt fuzzy again. “Am I going to die?” He asked. He didn’t know if he said it out loud or just thought it, but his spider responded all the same.

_Not yet, but you probably will at this rate if you keep bleeding. You have silk in your bag, make a bandage._

Webber shakily removed the backpack, setting it down and then realizing that he was still holding his eye. His own eye, stained in purple, a bit squashed from how tightly he’d been holding it. Severed nerves dangled from the back of it, tangled in his own fur.

That was the breaking point. He dropped it and squirmed out from under the bush, and promptly lost what little food was still in his stomach. He stayed there for a little while, continuing to retch even after everything was long gone. By the time he was starting to feel better- well enough to move, at least, -it was already dusk.

He wouldn’t really mind if the darkness finished him off. It would definitely be quick. He’d done enough to weaken himself.

His spider wasn’t ready to give up the fight yet, so their shared body dragged itself back under the bush to get at least a little cover. He tried to ignore his eye, still laying there, covered in dirt and blood, _staring at him_. Instead, he wadded up a bit of silk and carefully wiggled it up inside his eye socket. He didn’t have the energy to make a proper bandage, so it would have to do.

And then he readied himself to do it all again.

_You can’t!_ His spider argued. _You might die!_

He thought of Wendy, and how eager she was to experience such a thing, and move on. He tried to summon some of her morbid enthusiasm, and dug both sets of claws into different eyes. He didn’t let himself hesitate, just ripped them out. There was no time for him to register the pain, or do anything to heal up. The pain, the blood loss, and the lack of energy all took their toll, and Webber passed out.

* * *

He didn’t know how much time had passed by the time he woke up. At least the night had passed, though probably longer, judging by how hungry he was and how much the blood in his fur had dried. And the fact that the eyes still clutched in his hands had shriveled up.

He fumbled to open up the bag, trying to adjust to his currently quite lopsided vision as he searched for more silk and any sort of food he had. He found some berries and inhaled them, ignoring the warning from his spider to pace himself so he wouldn’t get more sick.

He should definitely avoid removing any more of his eyes for a little bit. It hurt and he wasn’t keen on passing out again and wasting even more time. He wanted to go back to the camp, and he wanted to show everyone that he didn’t look like a monster anymore! But more of him had to go before that could be a reality.

Maybe getting rid of these fangs would be a good next step? They wouldn’t bleed too bad if he broke them right? It would be weird to be able to fully close his mouth again. Weird, but maybe nice? Yeah, it would definitely be nice.

He thought for a moment about the best way to go about it, then dug in his backpack for a rock. Once he found one that he felt was big enough, he gripped one of his fangs in one hand, and used the other to whack it with the rock.

It hurt, but it didn’t hurt as badly as ripping out his eyes did. It took longer, though. He stubbornly kept at it until the fang finally cracked and he was able to use his spear to cut it all the way off. That hurt, but it was bearable.

Having learned his lesson, he gave himself some time to let the bleeding stop before attacking the other fang.

By the time he was done, he’d be stained purple for months. But he’d look more human, so it would be worth it. It would be so, so worth it.

He ate some more berries, and tried to be patient. It didn’t work, and he was back to breaking his other fang.

It felt like the pain was getting less? Maybe he was getting used to it. That would make things easier. He carefully ran a claw over the jagged edges of what had previously been his two huge fangs, and smiled. He was now three eyes and two fangs more human-looking than he was before!

It was starting to wear on him.

Webber yawned, stretching as well as he couldn’t without too much pain. Surely, he could remove one more eye before he needed to rest?

He had to do this fast. He had to get back as soon as he could, before everyone decided that he was a monster and that they didn’t want him back, no matter how much he did to look human.

He took a few deep breaths, and gripped his lowest left eye. Just one more for now. One more. He could do it. He ripped the eye out, and passed out for the second time, more blood staining his fur.

* * *

When Webber woke up, he first noticed the crackling of a fire nearby. Not the wild roar of a burning forest, but the calm, controlled sizzle of a fire pit. Then he noticed that he wasn’t lying on a blood-stained floor. He was on a straw roll- where did it come from?

Further searching found that his eyes were properly bandaged, and a little bit of honey poultice put on the stinging ends of his broken fangs. Had there been spiders around to help him?

Webber sat up, feeling a little shaky from the hunger, and looked around in confusion. Sitting by the fire, with a ghost floating a little ways away, was Wendy. He was back at the camp! A sudden wave of stress flooded him. Were they mad? Did they hate him for disappearing on them like that?

_They have no reason to hate you._ His spider argued. _Go say hello to your friend._

“They have every reason to hate me. I’m a monster.” He thought back, but he got to his feet and headed to the fire anyway. He hesitated, then sat down next to his friend. “...Wendy?”

She turned to face him, and promptly lifted a hand and slapped him.

Webber shrieked in surprise and pain, holding a hand to his stinging cheek. “Why would you-!” His confused complaint was cut off as Wendy tackled him in a hug tight enough to make their ribs hurt.

“You scared me so badly.” She said. She sounded emotional- like she was going to cry. Wendy never cried. Webber knew he had made a big mistake. “You’ve been gone for almost two **weeks**, Webber, I- we all thought you were dead!”

“We’re sorry!” He whimpered, all his stress turning into guilt.

“When Willow brought you back, you-” Wendy had to pause for a moment, and he felt something wet soak into his fur as she clutched him tighter. Oh no, he’d made her cry! “You were barely still alive and weren’t responding to anything, I thought I’d lose you just like I lost Abigail.”

She let go of him and pulled back, taking a moment to compose herself. Webber whined unhappily, starting to hate himself for the pain he had caused them. “We’re really sorry, Wendy-”

“Don’t be sorry.” She said softly, wiping away her tears. “Just never do it again.”

“We won’t.” A faint memory from when he was still human popped into his mind. He clung to it, trying to find the right words and actions. “Pinkie promise?” Wendy linked her finger with his claw, and they shook on it. She looked relieved, and that made him feel a little better.

They sat there, both quiet and just relieved to be together again. “Were you attacked?” She asked softly. “Your eyes and fangs...”

He glanced away and curled up a bit, once again scared that she would be mad. “We... We wanted to look human again. We thought, maybe if we make ourselves look human, m-maybe people wouldn’t be so scared of us.” He choked down a sob. “We’re tired of being a monster, Wendy.”

That made her look sad, which made him feel worse. He wished he could cry. “Do you really think we hate you?”

Webber didn’t want to answer that, so instead he stared at the fire.

“Did you really think we’d rather have you nearly kill yourself to look human again, than just- just let you be _you?_”

“We’re a monster.” He argued. “We scare all of you sometimes. Mr. Wilson still flinches a little when he sees us.”

“You’re not a monster.” Wendy bit back. “Yeah, sometimes you can be a little scary when you surprise someone, but we don’t hate you! Everyone was really worried when Willow brought you back. Everyone! If any of us hated you, we would have left you there. We wouldn’t have cared enough to look for you!”

Webber shrunk away. She was angry now, and it was all his fault. Why was everything always his fault?! He couldn’t do anything right. Wendy must have realized that he wasn’t taking it well, because she sighed and gave him a more gentle hug that the one she gave him earlier. He hiccupped, wishing he could shed tears and cry and feel better.

His friend held him, rocking back and forth a little bit as he sobbed. “It’s okay, Webber. I promise that you’re important. Even if someone doesn’t like you, I wouldn’t let anyone treat you badly.” She leaned a little bit closer and whispered, “You’re even more important to me than Abigail.”

He frowned. “But, she’s your sister, and we’re-”

“And you’re my friend. No buts.” Wendy corrected him. “And right now, my friend needs to heal and learn to not hate himself.”

“But we’re a monster!” He continued to argue.

Wendy narrowed her eyes. “All I see is my best friend.”

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in like 3 hours (how?? I can hardly write most of the time) and there's gonna be typos galore probably. Also I swear I love Webber he doesn't deserve this but I'm an angst monster.


End file.
